“Well, now,” he murmured, “that’s a brilliant way to say thank you.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Blaise woke early, did some calisthenics, took Beau for a walk, during which they caught the sunrise, then it was back to the house for a shower, and breakfast for both of them. She let her hair air-dry, which gave it some natural waves, and put on a touch of makeup. Nothing that would melt in the heat of the kitchen.
Brick was teaching her to make his wife’s famous coconut cake today.
What did one wear to a baking lesson? Casual clothing, for sure. And nothing that couldn’t be replaced in case of a stain, although what sort of stain would baking cause? Cakes were flour and sugar and eggs. It wasn’t like they were using red wine or tomato sauce.
Even so, she went with cuffed capri jeans, a pastel-striped T-shirt, and sneakers. That was cute and easy and didn’t look remotely like she was trying too hard. Which she wasn’t, at least not with her outfits.
Trying to win Brick over and get him out from behind the walls he had up? That was another story altogether. Part of herplan included making sure Brick had plenty of Beau time. Today she was going to make sure that Beau looked extra cute.
Under her bed, she had several slim storage containers on wheels so that they pulled out like a drawer. She rolled out the one that held Beau’s stuff. She selected his Fourth of July bandana, which was a Stars and Stripes motif.
Brick ought to like that. She gave Beau a quick brushing, then tied the bandana on over his collar. “You look very handsome.”
She checked her phone for the list of things Brick had said she’d need if she was going to make her own cake. Some of the items, like the measuring cups and spoons, she’d had. The rest she’d picked up in a late-night run to the store after getting home from trivia with the girls last night.
What fun that had been. She really hoped they did that again. She packed all her baking supplies into two reusable shopping totes, double-checked she had everything, then decided she was ready.
“Beau, time to go.”
She stuck her phone in her back pocket and, after locking the door, attached the small carabiner on her key ring to one of her belt loops. Beau scampered into the backyard ahead of her like he knew where they were going and was excited about it.
Maybe he did. He went straight to the gate.
“You want to see Brick?”
Beau’s tail wagged. She opened the gate and he ran into Brick’s yard, then right to the door of his porch and gave a little woof.
Blaise shook her head. Beau really liked Brick. She didn’t blame her little dog. The man was very sweet to him.
Brick had either been waiting on them or had heard Beau bark. He came onto the porch and opened the door.
Beau went right in like he owned the place.
Blaise took things a little more slowly. “Morning, Brick.”
“Morning.”
The aroma of coffee drifted out. “I brought all of the stuff on the list. Are you ready for us?”
“Yep.” He nodded. “Coffee?”
“That would be great.”
“Come on.” He tipped his head toward the house.
She came inside. The place was as neat and tidy as she’d expected it would be. Not much in the way of soft touches or personalization, but there was an electric fireplace in the living room. There were three framed photos on the mantel. Looked like Brick’s late wife and his two sons.
Above the pictures was a modest television. The living room had a blue leather recliner, undoubtedly his chair. Next to it was a side table with a book and a lamp. Cattycorner to that was a blue and tan plaid loveseat. The kitchen was white cabinets and tan speckled granite. A blue checked towel was folded over the cabinet under the sink. Everything was simple and clean.
Ingredients were laid out on the counter, ready to go.
“I’m really looking forward to this,” she said. “I’m not much of a cook, but as you know, I can make brownies, so this shouldn’t be too much harder.”
“Shouldn’t be,” he repeated, but the way he said it made her think he was skeptical.
